Power Beam
Samus Aran's , also known as the , is her basic default weapon made of Chozo technology. Readily equipped with her Power Suit, the Power Beam does little damage to powerful enemies, although it can easily clear entire rooms filled with weaker foes. The beam's projectiles consist of individual small spheres with yellow and/or orange colors flying in a straight line. Visually, they have the simplest appearance and trajectory out of all existing beam weapons. When using the Charge Beam, the projectile is noticeably larger and brighter. Main series .]] The Power Beam is the starting weapon for each mission. It is notable that the weapon was at its weakest in the very beginning of ''Metroid for the NES/FDS and its remake Metroid: Zero Mission, due to the weapon's projectiles dissipating within a short distance. However, it can be turned into a long-range weapon by collecting the Long Beam; this upgraded Power Beam becomes the standard and initial state of the weapon in every other title in the series (thus insinuating that both beams merged indefinitely). With the exception of Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus, it has the capacity to stack with other subsequent beams acquired by Samus, gaining additional properties and power. In Super Metroid, she has the liberty of choosing the combination of beams, but as Samus progressed in her mission, there would be very little benefit, if none at all, for her to revert the Power Beam back to its initial state. In fact, every other title simply made it impossible to regain the basic Power Beam. ''Metroid Prime'' series The beam remains as the starting weapon. For the majority of the series, however, the Power Beam is incapable of combining with other beams and stays as its own separate weapon. When compared to the other beams, it has the highest rate of fire and, in the first two Metroid Prime titles, is necessary to use in conjunction with the Charge Beam and Missiles to fire off Super Missiles, the only vital Charge Combo needed to complete the games. As a result, the Power Beam became more useful. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption remains the only game in the series where the Power Beam can stack with other beam weapons, changing the visual appearance and strength of its projectiles but always keeping its initial high rate of fire. In Metroid Prime Hunters, the beam can fire a burst of three shots in rapid succession every time the trigger is pulled. If the trigger is held to activate the Charge Beam, the Power Beam will fire a fourth projectile after a slight delay before it begins to focus into a charged shot. Interestingly, in the demo Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, the Power Beam used an ammunition system. It remains the only game where it does so. If the player runs out of ammo, they will no longer be able to fire the Power Beam fully automatically and are unable to use Missiles. This may have been a product of the training hologram where the demo is slated to take place in, however. ''Magazine Z'' manga The Power Beam, as depicted in the manga, packs considerably less power than ancient Chozo weapons despite being a recently made one. This is seen when Samus first used it on Mother Brain's Zebetite shields, revealing they were immune to it, but when Grey Voice attacked with a century-old weapon, it was able to penetrate the shields. ''Metroid Prime Hunters In ''Metroid Prime Hunters, the Power Beam has infinite ammo but is weak offensively; however, makes up with rapid fire (especially in Story Mode). A normal shot does around 6 damage. The Power Beam is a popular weapon among Hunters players, especially in small arenas without the Imperialist. As with many other weapons, the Power Beam does more damage with a Head Shot. Official data Official Metroid Prime website .]] '''Weapon effect: Highly effective offensive tool' Weapon range: 3-10 m Weapon potential: High "The Power Beam is the basic energy unit produced by Samus Aran's standard Arm Cannon. The Power Beam is expelled from Samus' Arm Cannon. Close observation indicates that this is the Bounty Hunter's most frequently used offensive tool. The Power Beam may be charged, dramatically increasing the weapon's effectiveness. Ineffective against advanced shields and engineered enemies." ''Metroid Prime'' flash "The Power Beam lacks the strength of other armaments that are hidden on Tallon IV but boasts more rapid fire. Acquire the Charge Beam power-up to launch a highly powerful blast of energy." ''Metroid Prime'' manual "This is Samus's standard beam, which you can fire continuously by rapidly tapping the A Button. As with all beam weapons, the Power Beam becomes much stronger once Samus finds the Charge Beam power-up. Once Samus has found the Charge Beam, press and hold the A Button to charge up her shot, then release the A Button to fire a powerful blast." Inventory data ''Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' manual "Fire the Power Beam continuously by rapidly tapping the A Button. It becomes much stronger when Samus uses the Charge Beam. Hold the A Button to charge (which also engages a tractor beam effect that draws power-ups toward Samus), then release it. The Power Beam can open blue hatches and has infinite ammo." ''Metroid Fusion'' manual "This is the standard beam Samus possesses at the beginning of the game." ''Fusion'' website "Samus's standard Energy Beam is sufficient for defeating weaker enemies encountered early in the mission. Samus will need to upgrade, however, before facing more dangerous creatures." ''Metroid: Zero Mission'' manual "This is Samus' standard beam weapon." ''Metroid Prime: Hunters'' Logbook entry ''Metroid: Other M'' On-Screen Tutorial ATTACK Press 1 to fire your beam. ''Metroid: Other M'' manual "Press 1 to fire a beam. Press and hold 1 and release to fire a powerful Charge Beam." ''Metroid: Other M'' Samus Screen data "Controls: Fire with 1. Press and hold 1 until fully charged and release to shoot a Charge Beam." Metroid.com for Metroid: Other M ''Normal Beam/Charge Beam'' Samus' standard hand cannon can wipe out the more common creatures infesting the Bottleship, while an added charge function ups the damage quotient significantly. ''Metroid: Samus Returns'' Samus Screen data "A basic Power Beam. Press Y rapidly to fire consecutive shots." Metroid: Samus Returns Strategy Guide ;The Armory (p. 10) :"Samus' bread and butter, the Power Beam may be the peashooter of the ''Metroid universe, but it gets the job done."'' * The sentences about the Charge Beam and tractor beam are included in Corruption. Trivia *The default, starting beam weapon was referred to as the Normal Beam throughout the main classic series up until Metroid: Samus Returns where it is called the Power Beam, a term that was invented and exclusively used in the Metroid Prime series. *The Federation Force's Mechs use a similar beam called the Power Shot. *In the original Metroid, the Normal Beam and the Ice Beam deal the exact same amount of damage. However, due to the Ice Beam's freezing/unfreezing nature, enemies must be hit twice as many times with the frigid projectile. *Though Samus required the Long Beam upgrade in the original Metroid to fire all the way across the screen, in all subsequent games (save Metroid: Zero Mission) this attribute is a natural ability of the Normal Beam. *In the classic trilogy (Metroid, Metroid II: Return of Samus, and Super Metroid), the player can hold the fire button (prior to acquiring the Charge Beam in Super Metroid) to repeatedly fire Samus' beam. *In the Metroid Prime series, the beams affected the Arm Cannon in their own unique way when charging. In the case of the Power Beam, beams of light would appear from the sides of the Arm Cannon. In the New Play Control! and Metroid Prime Trilogy versions of Metroid Prime, this effect is absent. However, this graphical effect is retained in the re-releases of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. **Another, less noticeable effect that is not present in Trilogy version of Metroid Prime is the heat waves which emanate from the Arm Cannon after rapid-firing the Power Beam. *In Metroid: Zero Mission, an uncharged shot from the Power Beam does 1 unit of damage. **This is also true in the Echoes multiplayer mode. *In Metroid Prime, the Power Beam was modeled and skinned by Gene Kohler. *Chozo Ghosts are immune to all natural forms of energy, yet are vulnerable to the Power Beam. The Power Beam is, therefore, an unnatural form of energy. *In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the Power Beam is presented as being more powerful during cutscenes than it is during gameplay. Samus is seen killing Pirate Troopers in a single shot, while in gameplay it takes 20 shots or two fully charged shots. Gallery powerbeam-m1.gif|''Metroid'' Metroid II Power Beam.gif|''Metroid II: Return of Samus'' powerbeam-m3.gif|''Super Metroid'' powerbeam-m4.gif|''Metroid Fusion'' powerbeam-m0.gif|''Zero Mission'' Other M Geemers.jpg|''Metroid: Other M'' Obstacle_bluedoor.jpg|''Metroid Prime'' Power Beam Symbol.png|''Prime'' symbol. Power Beam Symbol Echoes.png|''Echoes'' symbol. Obstacle_bluedoor2.jpg|''Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' PowerBeamRender.png|''Echoes'' promotional render. Power_Beam_rip.png|Extracted model from Echoes. Obstacle_bluedoor3.jpg|''Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'' Power_Beam_Firing_MP3.jpg|Samus using the Power Beam in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Power_Beam.png|''Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'' Mp3 power beam upgrade.png|The Power Beam in item form in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption References it:Raggio Energia es:Rayo ru:Энергетический Луч Category:Beams Category:Gene Kohler Category:Chozo technology Category:Recurring Items Category:Metroid Prime/Dark Samus Category:Beginning Items Category:Equipment